Author
Ghiyāth al-Dīn Jamshīd Ibn Masʿūd ibn Maḥmūd al-Kāshī
Publication Date
Late Shawwal 850 (AH, Hijri)
Type
Book
Language
Arabic
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
Yes
Pages Count
1
Physical Dimensions
232 x 153mm
Library
Qatar Digital Library
Library Asset ID
IO Islamic 622
Record ID
vdc_100106886576.0x000001
Library Location
British Library: Oriental Manuscripts
Date
Late Shawwal 850 (AH, Hijri)
Notes
An astronomical treatise on the sizes and distances of the planets and fixed stars by Ghiyāth al-Dīn Jamshīd Ibn Masʿūd ibn Maḥmūd al-Kāshī (Ghiyāth al-Dīn Jamshid ibn Masoud ibn Mahmoud al-Kashi, d. 1429 or 1436).
The text was composed in 1407 and was dedicated to the vizier Kamāl al-Dīn Maḥmūd (Kamal al-Din Mahmud, see f. 1v, lines 27-28), after whom the treatise was also entitled to the
Treatise for Kamāl
(The Perfectionist Message). The present copy was completed at the end of Shawwāl 850/January 1447 (see
colophon
Section at the end of a manuscript text.
, f. 16v, lines 6-7, transcribed below).
After a short introduction (ff. 1v-2r), the treatise is divided into seven chapters (articles) and a conclusion (conclusion) consisting of tables. The divisions of the text are listed on f. 2r:
Chapter One: The mensuration of the Earth and related matters (The First Essay on the Survey of the Earth and Related Matters, ff. 2r-4r);
Chapter Two: The distances of the Moon and the extent of its diameter (The second article on the dimensions of the Moon and the extent of its diameter, ff. 4r-8r);
Chapter Three: The distances of the Sun and the extent of its diameter (The third article on the dimensions of the Sun and the extent of its diameter, ff. 8r-9v);
Chapter Four: The distances of the two inferior [planets] and the extent of their diameters (The fourth article on the dimensions of the two inferior [planets] and the extent of their diameters, ff. 9v-10r);
Chapter Five: The distances of the superior planets and their diameters (The Fifth Article on the Dimensions and Diameters of the Superior Planets, ff. 10v-11r);
Chapter Six: The distance of the [sphere of the] fixed [stars] (Sixth article on the dimension of constants, ff. 11r-11v);
Chapter Seven: The bodies of the stars (Seventh Treatise on Planetary Bodies, ff. 11v-12r);
Conclusion: Tables (ff. 12r-16v).
The treatise contains numerous diagrams and ten tables. Ff. 3 and 5 belong to an astronomical treatise in Persian and were inserted at a later date.
Begins (f. 1v, lines 2-3):
Praise be to God who raised the sky without pillars, decorated it with car lights and fixtures, and placed the earth with trees
Without extension, it enabled them to enjoy sources and springs and made the rulings on the appearance of astronomical bodies despite their different conditions...
Ends (f. 16v, lines 1-3):
Let this be the last of the subtleties, details, knowledge, and facts we mentioned in this perfect message
What is hoped for is that the brothers will be content and honest, and that they will see the months of humiliation and improve it, for [in]
Cooperate, do not oppose each other, cooperate, communicate [?] Praise be to God first and last, and blessings be upon His Prophet, inwardly and outwardly.
Colophon
Section at the end of a manuscript text.
(f. 16v, lines 4-8):
I have finished writing this honorable letter and reports
Nice in the afternoon on a rainy day
Snow at the end of Shawwal of the year
Eight hundred and fifty
Crescent
Erişim Koşulları
Unrestricted
Bulma Yardımcıları
Loth, Otto,
A Catalogue of the Arabic Manuscripts in the Library of the
India Office
The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors.
(London: Printed by order of the Secretary of State for India in Council, 1877), Item 755, pp. 219-20
Edinme Kaynağı
From the library at Seringapatam (Srirangapatna) of Tīpū Sulṭān (ٹیپو سلطان),
Nawwāb
An honorific title; an official acting as a provincial deputy ruler in South Asia; or a significant Muslim landowner in nineteenth century India.
Fatḥ ‘Alī Khān (نواب فتح علي خان) of Mysore (reg. 1782-99), transferred to Fort William College, Calcutta (Kolkata) in 1799, then deposited at the
India Office
The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors.
in 1806 and 1937
Köken
East India Company Library: its seal (ff. 1r and 16v);
Taqī al-Dīn ibn Ghiyāth al-Dīn al-Ḥasanī (تقي الدين بن غياث الدين الحسني): his ownership inscription (f. 1r).
Seçilmiş kaynakça
Studies:
Rosenfeld, B. A. and Ekmeleddin Ihsanoğlu,
Mathematicians, Astronomers, and Other Scholars of Islamic Civilization and Their Works
(7th - 19th c.) (Istanbul: IRCICA, 2003), no. 802, pp. 269-71
Schmidl, Petra G., 'Kāshī: Ghiyāth (al-Milla wa-) al-Dīn Jamshīd ibn Mas‘ūd ibn Maḥmūd al-Kāshī [al-Kashānī]', in
The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers
, ed. by Thomas Hockey et al. (New York: Springer, 2007) pp. 613-15
